Robin

This morning I achieved both goals for April 30: two sets of 10 micro-crunches and walking 1.5 miles in 30 minutes. Woot woot!

I have decided NOT to write a post today about how I'm depressed and confused about my vocational choices and envious of others. You're welcome.

Instead, an update on my writing day. It went well, though it was exhausting. That's a level of focus and intensity that I'm not used to. Normally people or teaching interrupt my focus at intervals, and since I can predict these interruptions I don't try to get a lot done. I like having a large chunk of time for my writing, and it's a luxury only available in summer. And winter break. 

I used the Pomodoro Technique to help me focus. I can't concentrate for 6 hours, but I can do it for 25 minutes. And then another 25 minutes. And another. I liked using the first Pomodoro to plan. It eased myself into the writing. As I was planning what I was going to do, my mental gears creaked into motion. 

I didn't actually write much yesterday, other than a basic outline. Most of the day was information gathering. I still have a fair bit of that to do, but tomorrow I will have some time to actually write. We'll see how it goes. 

At the beginning of 2011, I established specific and achievable goals. In sum, it did not noticeably help. Here are the details:

1. I did not lose 30 pounds or anywhere near. I almost hit a loss of 20 pounds at one point, but then I gained again. I weigh 5 pounds less than last year. The silver lining is that I didn't overall gain this year--if that had been true every year, I wouldn't have this problem. The effort it took just to not gain is disheartening.
2. I did not do my physical therapy stretches every single morning. I did them maybe once a week.
3. Most days, I DID get at least 20 minutes of exercise per day. Usually walking.
4. Most weeks, I DID get an hour of sustained exercise.
5. I bird-watched regularly, though I didn't submit weekly records to eBird. Last year I saw 19 lifebirds, bringing my life list to 269. The new birds were: Ruddy Duck, American Oystercatcher, Black-bellied Plover, Clapper Rail, Northern Gannet, Red-throated Loon, Great Horned Owl (seen!), American Avocet, Tundra Swan, Groove-billed Ani, Nanday Parakeet (also another wild Parakeet but eBird wouldn't let me list it), Dickcissel, Kentucky Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, Acadian Flycatcher, Swallow-tailed Kite, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Marsh Wren.
6. I attended over 4 cultural events: a public lecture, the Titanic museum, Spamalot, the Greek festival, and Cats.
7. I read about 12 books for fun: the Hunger Games triology, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series (last 3 books), Pratchett's A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith, Avi's Crispin, The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance, Tom Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune.
8. I did not finish the new version of my book. I made very little progress on this in the last year.
9. I did not submit my Service Learning article to a journal, but I did submit a proposal for it and have it accepted. Now I just have to write the article.

If we just go by the numbers, I had 5 successes, 3 failures, and one half-success. The trouble is that the areas I failed in were the most important to me.

Goals for October
I lost the 2 pounds I set as my goal. I finished the fun book Carrie loaned me, and I also read another fun book. I went hiking in the Smokies. Work on my website has begun. I made no progress at all on the book manuscript. I sent out my first job application.
 
Goals for 2011
Nutrition and Weight Loss: 16 pounds lost this year. I’m beginning to slide and eat more poison.
Exercise: Fair. Walking has become a once-a-week thing because of scheduling, and I often don’t make it to the gym.
Birding: Nothing additional, though I did write up more of my eBird reports.
Cultural events: Goal met.
Reading: Goal met and exceeded. I read The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance, a genre study, and also Tom Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49.
Writing: Nada.

Plan for November

• Complete the Moore chapter, which means 15-20 more pages, research, editing, and polishing. This is top priority for the month. If I finish, I get a weekend at Biltmore as my reward.
• Apply for jobs, which means writing cover letters and weekly reading of ads.
• Mop kitchen and dust library.
• Lose 3 pounds.
• Return to the gym weekly.
• Finish writing up eBird reports. Go on a field trip and one day of independent watching.

 

This year I am trying to make my goals both specific and achievable. Here goes.

1. Lose 30 pounds by
a. Tracking my food
b. Planning my meals to emphasize protein and vegetables
c. Limiting night-time snacks
d. Exercising (see below)

2. Do my physical therapy stretches every single morning.

3. Get at least 20 minutes of exercise per day.

4. Once per week, get an hour of sustained evercise. Build to twice per week by mid-March and maintain.

5. Bird-watch weekly, even if it's just around the house. Submit a record to eBird each week.

6. Attend at least 4 live music events or plays.

7. Read 10 books for fun.

8. Finish the new version of my book.

9. Submit my Service Learning article to a journal.